How to Maintain Your Weight-Loss Surgery Results during the Holidays

Strategies to maintain long-term weight loss

Studies show that the best way to sustain the success of your weight-loss intervention is to change your behaviors and attitudes toward food. Until you ditch your old habits and create new ones, you’ll face constant food temptations, especially during the holidays when cookies, cakes, pies, and all kinds of carbs and sweets abound. To get through it unscathed, try these strategies.

Weigh yourself frequently

While we don’t recommend becoming a slave to the scale, it’s the best way to get instant feedback on your status, so it’s an important tool. Seeing the numbers move (up or down) can be the best motivator. A quick check before you head out to a party can keep you in check when you get there.

Cut calories

Although it’s true that you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body weight, the process is much more complex than that simple equation suggests, because multiple variables come into play, with energy expenditure topping the list. That said, curbing your calorie intake is essential to maintaining your weight loss.

When overwhelmed by holiday feasts, think of food like a budget. You can only “spend” a certain number of calories, so choose wisely: will it be Grandma’s pumpkin pie or a side of mashed potatoes? This way you still enjoy the party and the food, but stay within your means.

Don’t starve yourself

Speaking of budgets, many people take this analogy too far by “saving” calories all day knowing they want to binge at dinner. But that strategy sets you up for overindulgence and failure. It also makes your blood sugar levels crash and spike. It’s best to eat smaller meals throughout the day and come to the holiday table with a reasonable, not ravenous, appetite.

Move more

Exercise is important to all humans and critical in your weight-loss and weight-maintenance efforts. The more you move, the more calories you burn, and your body turns to your fat stores for energy. So, if you want to eat a frosted cookie with no remorse, make sure you're adding more bike rides and trips to the gym to your holiday schedule.

Pay attention to portions

Protecting the results of your weight-loss surgery doesn’t mean you never get to enjoy food again, but it does mean you need to approach it differently. Instead of piling food on your plate and going back for seconds, commit to one serving only. As long as you concentrate on proper portions of well-balanced nutrients, you can sample a bit of everything without denying your palate.

Keep improving

In addition to these food strategies, another way to stay motivated in your life-long weight-management efforts is to celebrate victories, not sweat the small setbacks, and do things that make you happy.

One of the best things you can do for yourself after weight-loss surgery is to take care of the loose skin you see hanging now that the fat is gone. This is a normal occurrence that happens because your skin has stretched out over the years and doesn’t have the elasticity to spring back.

This can be a disappointing reality after your extreme weight loss. But Dr. Polavarapu finishes off your journey by performing body contouring surgery to tighten, support, and reposition sagging skin. It works on your arms, legs, face, breasts, tummy — anywhere you have lax skin.

You’ve come this far — don’t stop short of the finish line. Call us today at 817-615-8576, or book a consultation online, and give yourself the gift of firmer skin that fits your new body like a glove.